I QUIT! The quitting smoking support thread.

[DuffMan]

Just checked the quit pro app on my phone .
It's been 6 months 7 days,
1884 smokes not smoked, and $1271 not spent smoking.

My big thing has always been golfing. I'd quit in Jan/February or so and slowly start with cigars etc when golfing started. This last time I quit the week after golfing ended. Been golfing for a few weeks now including with smokers, and except for the very first couple of games I haven't had the urge.
Now instead of really wanting to smoke, I'm really happy I dont.

On a side note, I never smoked in front of my kid in 15 years.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Just checked the quit pro app on my phone .
It's been 6 months 7 days,
1884 smokes not smoked, and $1271 not spent smoking.

My big thing has always been golfing. I'd quit in Jan/February or so and slowly start with cigars etc when golfing started. This last time I quit the week after golfing ended. Been golfing for a few weeks now including with smokers, and except for the very first couple of games I haven't had the urge.
Now instead of really wanting to smoke, I'm really happy I dont.

On a side note, I never smoked in front of my kid in 15 years.

I never really bothered to calculate the money savings before.

I quit back in the summer of 2003, so about 12 years ago. I smoked about 5 packs a week as a conservative estimate (not quite a pack a day). At roughly $7 per pack, that would mean that I saved possibly in excess of $20,000 from quitting.

That seems insane to me.

[DuffMan]

^^^^^^^
They have apps for that. I'll probably keep it on my phone for a year.

You know it's not really the money that blows my mind, it's the smokes.
I keep imagining the smokes not smoked as butts in an increasingly bigger ashtray and all the empty packs, and the volume of smoke in my lungs.

You're over 62,000. Imagine the pile of butts that is.

[JonDuke]

Today is my 4 month mark.
On May 7th, while putting my daughter to bed, she said "Daddy, you stink, can you please stop smoking?"
And I said yes, as I did every night before then.
Then she asked, with finger already extended "Pinky promise?"
I knew I was screwed. A pinky promise is sacred. I held her to every single one we made until then.
So, I haven't smoked since.
People say you can't ever quit because of someone else and instead you have to do it for yourself. To those people, I say, you've never feared breaking a pinky promise with your 4 year old princess.

[Roof-Daddy]

Two year anniversary here. Not a single puff. Feels good.

[DuffMan]

10 months 6 days.
3109 not smoked
1 month life gained
$2,098 saved.
I had a Cuban cigar in a golf tournament about a month ago, but that was it.
so glad I quit.
apparently my enter button doesn't work anymore and all of my points turn into a run on sentence, wtf. doesn't look like formatting works either.
I see it formats it to paragraph and I can't get rid of it. wtf

[Nyah]

4 Years, 3 Months & 25 Days.
$10,225.45 saved
18,936 cigarettes not smoked

I found after the 1 year mark, things got way easier, I kind of stopped thinking about it...but that's just me. I still have my app to keep me reminded of where I'm at every once & a while. Keep it up!

[Barnes]

1 year 3 months
8367 not smoked
$5020 not spent on tobacco.

Keep it up everyone.

[GreenLantern]

So I smoked for about 10 years, I quit 7 years ago now. I was good for a few years then I started smoking cigars like Captain Blacks or Prime Times. On and off while fishing mostly, but it was ramping up to be a weekend event. I never really craved it during the week, but I would always crave it on the weekend, especially out door activities. This weekend coming up will mark 1 year I have been without any form of tobacco. Pretty excited to get there, absolutely zero part of me is craving anything at this point.

Playing cards on the weekend a few guys were smoking cigars and man are my lungs hurting, good incentive to just stay away.

[DuffMan]

Golf and cigars always got me, like naked girls and beer.
I think at this point though, I can make it through the golf season without cigars.

[activeStick]

Bought my usual two packs today at 7-11 since they give you a discount on two. Prices have increased apparently, came to $23.39... Yikes, maybe it's time to quit

[Cecil Terwilliger]

BUMP

I am very proud to say it has been 4 months 25 days and 1177 cigarettes not smoked. It has also been 1 year 3 months and 18 days since I last had a drop of alcohol. I quit smoking weed too but I haven't tracked it. It was more of a coincidence, though truth be told it was probably the worst of the three. I started working out but refuse to follow a meal plan so I'm only slightly less fat. At least my pants aren't getting tighter at an alarming rate. That's nice. That about covers all my addictions but I'm only posting here. I didn't give up being lazy.

[devo22]

bump. 4 years!

[Sluggo]

How can I convince my parents -In their 60's- to at least try vaping? I as a non smoker and have no ways to convince them; I know vaping would be better for them in their long term but I am really looking for advice that can convince them to a better alternative.

[Barnes]

E-cigs are a great alternative to smoking and allows you to maintain a similar routine and get some nicotine you still have to WANT to quit in order to be successful. There are all kinds of wonderful chemicals you get addicted with smoking that you don't get with vaping. Nicotine is absorbed way slower as well. It's still hard work.

[T@T]

About 27 months for me now but I can honestly say no matter what an app would tell me I don't feel like I saved a cent.

But I'm still glad I'm not married to those stupid things anymore.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

How can I convince my parents -In their 60's- to at least try vaping? I as a non smoker and have no ways to convince them; I know vaping would be better for them in their long term but I am really looking for advice that can convince them to a better alternative.

So what is the deal with vaping, I see those things everywhere now. Is it really a safer alternative? I see so much back and forth in the news. I did see a recent study done by some British scientists which indicated it was 95% safer but then then other day on my FB feed I thought I saw an article from IFLS suggesting it can cause popcorn lung? Whatever the hell that is?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

How can I convince my parents -In their 60's- to at least try vaping? I as a non smoker and have no ways to convince them; I know vaping would be better for them in their long term but I am really looking for advice that can convince them to a better alternative.

I'm only familiar with the larger type vapes, not the really small ones that look like a cig. I used one kind of like this and I found it to be quite expensive and labour intensive to keep it functioning properly. You have to learn about the different cartridges and voltage levels, nicotine levels, worry about replacing parts, leaking, refilling etc.

I think if you're going to get them interested you'll need to talk to someone at a reputable vape shop who can fill you in on an easier method. If I thought it was a PIA your parents will probably find it totally not worth it. Cost will also be an issue. Not only for set up but for weekly (or more often) nicotine refills. The refills are about $20 IIRC and last anywhere from a day to a week.

Oh and on the subject of nicotine, some of my friends who quit smoking found their nicotine intake skyrocketed since you don't get all the same satisfaction from vaping and they were literally doing hundreds of vapes a day and going through tons of ejuice. It may be less dangerous but it was almost just as expensive and they became nicotine junkies way more than when they smoked.

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

So what is the deal with vaping, I see those things everywhere now. Is it really a safer alternative? I see so much back and forth in the news. I did see a recent study done by some British scientists which indicated it was 95% safer but then then other day on my FB feed I thought I saw an article from IFLS suggesting it can cause popcorn lung? Whatever the hell that is?

It is tough to get really good science but from all the research I did, which was a fair amount, I would say that it is way safer but not perfect. Admittedly there isn't a lot of really good reputable stuff on the internets but I did quite a bit of reading.

It may have some long term effects and I've heard people say it gave them a sore throat and a scratchy throat all the time. Really there isn't a great way for us to know yet because the science on vaping just isn't there.

What I can tell you is that the products used for vaping (forget their names right now) are well known and have been used for a long time, fog machines and inhalers for asthmatics come to mind. It's just that they haven't really been used for repeated direct to lung use for nicotine delivery.

Honestly even if they do have negative side effects over the long term, it pretty much has to be better than smoking.

I only used mine for a month. Over the 4 weeks I slowly decreased the nicotine levels - first by buying juice with lower levels, then by manually mixing non-nicotine juice with the low nicotine juice - and it allowed me to quit way easier than otherwise.

If you are using it as a permanent replacement for smoking it may not have quite the health benefits. For me it was a better quit smoking aid than nightmare inducing meds or stupid nicorette products.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I'm only familiar with the larger type vapes, not the really small ones that look like a cig. I used one kind of like this and I found it to be quite expensive and labour intensive to keep it functioning properly. You have to learn about the different cartridges and voltage levels, nicotine levels, worry about replacing parts, leaking, refilling etc. .

Yeah those big mods are a PITA. Just get them something simple like the Aspire Premium Starter Kit. It's small/pen sized and has everything you need. There's only one battery, only one button to press, etc. All you need to do is fill the tank and charge the battery.

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by T@T

About 27 months for me now but I can honestly say no matter what an app would tell me I don't feel like I saved a cent.

Same, I always thought that I would have a surplus of money when I wasn't spending it on cigarettes, but I didn't. It got me thinking how I ever afforded to smoke in the first place!